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der, Aurivillius, Celsius, &c. Some gave a Latin termina- 

 tion to names of barbarous origin, as Bergius, Retzius, 

 Afzelius, Browallius ; and these became Swedish names 

 even with that termination entire. 



The name of Linnaeus was in this latter predicament. 

 Its termination, therefore, is by no means " boorish," or 

 " plebeian," or " vile," but of classical origin ; and these 

 names have the peculiar felicity of being transferable into 

 any language without inconvenience, and especially of en- 

 tering spontaneously into Latin composition. If your 

 correspondent be in the habit of writing or reading many 

 scientific books in Latin, he will duly appreciate this last 

 consideration. With respect to English writing, as we 

 mention Titus, and Marcus Aurelius, in their original or- 

 thography, without following the French, who call them 

 Tite and Marc Aurt-le, no one has found any difficulty in 

 making an English word of Linnaeus. 



When this great man became ennobled, I am well aware 

 that, in conformity to the court ceremonies of the day, 

 which were all French, a termination borrowed from the 

 language of that people was, in his case, as in others, 

 adopted, with the strange jumble of a Gothic prefix, and 

 he became in Swedish von Linne, as in French de Linne, 

 and in barbarous Latin a Linne. No one that I know of 

 has adopted any of these in English, though some have 

 called him Linne, but hitherto with little success. I 

 presume no one would wish to Anglicize his name into 

 Linny ; and yet that, however ridiculous, would be the 

 only correct and consistent measure, except we retain the 

 von, the de, or the a. 



I have therefore always used his original name, with- 

 out any design, or surely any suspicion, of slighting the 

 honours which his sovereign conferred upon him, and 

 which, I will venture to say, reflected glory on his royal 

 patron in return. By such a disposal of honours their 

 lustre is preserved, as in the cases of a Marlborough, a 

 Newton, and a Nelson, from that deterioration to which, 



